2004
15.12.04 'We're only trying to save animals' lives'
ANIMAL rights activists accused of "intimidating" members of a hunt in a weekend protest have hit back... Paul Timpson, spokesman for the North West Hunt Saboteurs' Association, said he was annoyed by allegations made by some hunt members after they tried to disrupt a meet organised by the High Peak Harriers at Buxton on Saturday... Dawn Preston, a member of the Manchester Hunt Saboteurs' Association, added: "Hunt saboteurs are there to save the lives of animals, not to endanger them. It would make no sense to risk injury to horses by interfering with jumps" Sheffield Star
14.12.04 Hunt saboteurs endanger horses
A HUNT member has spoken of her fear after dozens of animal rights activists armed with sprays and whips descended on a legal hunt meeting in the north Derbyshire countryside... Jackie Carr, aged 45, is a long-standing member of the High Peak Harriers... She said: "Whatever they do to us, we always try not to respond and try to speak politely to them. But on Saturday they were interfering with children's ponies and sabotaging the jumps with barbed wire. It is getting worse and it can be very intimidating, but if won't stop us hunting. If anything it makes us stronger". Sheffield Star
(What a contrast! The above story and the one below is exactly the same hunt and hunt sab groups in the same place - except one newspaper chose to stick to the facts and one decided to grab the first -alleged- mentally insane hunt supporter they could find to give her version of reality! Can anyone guess which is the factual account?)
14.12.04 MAN HELD AT HUNT MEETING
Trouble broke out between hunters and saboteurs at a meet of the High Peak Harriers on Saturday. A Derbyshire police spokeswoman said that a 63-year-old man was arrested and cautioned for a public order offence after he allegedly (top tip for newspapers: the accused has accepted guilt by accepting a caution - so you no longer have to add the word alleged everywhere!) verbally abused a hunt saboteur in the presence of a police officer... Derby Evening Telegraph
3.12.04 NO RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF DEMOCRACY
The great public debate over the recent Parliamentary decision to ban fox-hunting continues unabated... we now have huntsmen and landowners saying they have no intention of heeding the Commons dictate... By all means let the Countryside Alliance, or whoever else, challenge the validity of the Commons vote through the law courts. But unless the legislation is overturned, then our farmers and hunts are guilty of an unattractive arrogance in considering themselves above the law of the land. Derby Evening Telegraph
(It was actually a huntmaster who was arrested and the hunt kicked him out shortly after. The High Peak should be credited with being possibly the most law abiding hunt in the country. Some other hunts I could name would have probably given him a medal. Note the legal get-out phrases in here on one side but notably lacking elsewhere:)
2.12.04 Huntsman's arrest in clash
A huntsman was arrested after allegedly (here) hitting a campaigner with a whip as she (not here?) grabbed his horse's bridle in an attempt to (not here?) stop him hunting foxes. Trouble flared when saboteurs (not here?) tried to prevent members of the High Peak Hunt riding away from their meeting point at Flagg. A 25-year-old woman was taken to Stepping Hill Hospital at Stockport for treatment to head injuries, saying (here) she had been struck by the riding whip of a 50-year-old man... Chesterfield Today
(Is this the dodgiest local newspaper in the country next to the 'Darlington & Stockton Times'? Does anyone really care 'cos who reads this -alleged- trash anyway? The full story in the Derby local however stuck to the facts -except the wrong sab groups- and then included both sides' claims which is how it should be done:)
29.11.04 ARREST IS MADE AT FOX-HUNT
One person was arrested after an alleged assault at the High Peak Hunt on Saturday. Police were called to an incident at the meet in Flagg, near Buxton, after saboteurs from Derby and Northampton descended on the hunt... Derby Evening Telegraph
15.9.04 HUNT BAN DEMOS PLANNED
- GRAHAM PHOENIX - Foxhunting supporters have promised local and national demonstrations against the Government's impending ban on the sport. Members of the exclusive Meynell and South Staffordshire Hunt claim backing from a majority of Uttoxeter area farmers and other landowners... The Sentinel
(Fame at last for the group - well at least for one media whore anyway...)
10/9/2004 FIGHTING FOR THE FOXES...
A Bill to ban fox-hunting will be rushed through all its Commons stages in just one day, next week, it was announced yesterday. On Wednesday, the Evening Telegraph looked at the possible impact of a hunting ban on rural life, as seen by those who support the practice. Today, Lynwen Davison speaks to people who would rejoice if a ban becomes law - the anti-hunting lobby.
"It's a myth that a ban on hunting will destroy the rural economy," said Roger Swain, of Derby Hunt Saboteurs, "a myth that perpetuates cruelty..."
Derby Evening Telegraph
8.9.04 FOX HUNTING IS NOT JUST A SPORT, IT'S OUR LIVELIHOOD TOO
The Government is widely expected to push through a complete ban on fox hunting next week. But those who ride with the High Peak Hunt in Derbyshire refuse to accept that their sport could be banned. And for those whose livelihood depends upon the hunt, a ban would mean far more than a lost pastime. Robin Johnson reports on the wide-reaching consequences of a ban... Derby Evening Telegraph